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Capitol View®
Catharine Richert

MN Senate race tenth most expensive on the airwaves

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On the airwaves, a new analysis shows that Minnesota's Senate race between Sen. Al Franken and Republican Mike McFadden is among the top 10 most expensive in the country.

That's according to the Center for Public Integrity, which is tracking political ad spending throughout the country this election year.

Minnesota ranks tenth among 30 U.S. Senate races, with an estimated $7.7 million spent on political ads.

That's light years less than the nearly $40 million that's been spent on the North Carolina Senate race, which is so far the most expensive in the country, according to the report.

But what's interesting about the Minnesota figure is that most of the spending is coming from the candidates - Franken has already spent an estimated $5 million on ads - not well-funded outside political groups.

For months, politicos on both sides of the aisle have predicted that the race between Franken and McFadden would eventually attract large sums from political organizations outside the state. But that's yet to happen.

The Center for Public Integrity is also tracking money spent on state race ads. So far, ads in the gubernatorial and State Auditor races are projected to cost $4.3 million - a relatively modest sum compared to places like Florida and Texas, where tens of millions are being spent.

So far, the biggest spender is the liberal Alliance for a Better Minnesota, dropping an estimated $1.5 million on ads in the governor's race.